Hot Springs, Arkansas
May 21–22, 2022
May 21–22, 2022
The drive down to Hot Springs was a bit harrowing. I slowly wended my way over curving mountains, in the pitch dark night, in the middle of a torrential downpour and thunderstorm that created emergency detours that made my route even longer. By the time I arrived at the Gulpha Gorge Campground in Hot Springs National Park, I was beat.
After a good night’s sleep, the dogs and I headed into downtown Hot Springs to see the bathhouses that made the town famous. The architecture and lettering on the magnolia-lined bathhouse row are such a treat. The town leaves its history visible because that’s the biggest tourist attraction it has, with old hot spring fountains and signage rusting and calcifying beautifully. I had to keep the dogs from trying to drink out of bubbling, steaming pools, but I’ll admit that I stuck my fingers in one. Toasty! We walked up one of Dr. Max Oertel’s fitness trails, part of the German expat’s color-coded exercise system that gradually led heart patients from easier to harder workouts over time. We did the red trail (the hardest!) and got to check out some spooky old ruins and machinery from the early 1900s along the way.
Before leaving town, I filled up two Nalgene bottles with water from the hot spring fountain. I had expected a sulfurous, mineral taste, but once the water cooled it was the cleanest, most delicious water I’ve ever had!
After a good night’s sleep, the dogs and I headed into downtown Hot Springs to see the bathhouses that made the town famous. The architecture and lettering on the magnolia-lined bathhouse row are such a treat. The town leaves its history visible because that’s the biggest tourist attraction it has, with old hot spring fountains and signage rusting and calcifying beautifully. I had to keep the dogs from trying to drink out of bubbling, steaming pools, but I’ll admit that I stuck my fingers in one. Toasty! We walked up one of Dr. Max Oertel’s fitness trails, part of the German expat’s color-coded exercise system that gradually led heart patients from easier to harder workouts over time. We did the red trail (the hardest!) and got to check out some spooky old ruins and machinery from the early 1900s along the way.
Before leaving town, I filled up two Nalgene bottles with water from the hot spring fountain. I had expected a sulfurous, mineral taste, but once the water cooled it was the cleanest, most delicious water I’ve ever had!
